Bang!
by Discordia the Goddess of Irony
Summary: This is a one shot deal that I felt like writing entirely as a dialog after Spike's death in the final episode. Mild language


A/N First of all, I don't own the rights to _Cowboy Bebop _or any of the characters. Second of all, I haven't seen the entire series quite yet. I have seen the final episode (among others), and that is what inspired me to write this. Essentially, this picks up right where the series ends, thus the title. The theory behind some of this comes from comments made by an acquaintance of mine during a conversation. In a rather daring and probably foolish move, I've endeavored to write this entirely as a conversation. I can only hope that this comes out sounding coherent. A small note of clarification: the second line is Spike's thoughts and is differentiated by the italics and single quotation marks. This is a one shot deal, so no sequel, sorry.

  


Spike ::walks up searching for a match:: Talk, talk, talk. Shut up and start the story already. It's bad enough I have to listen to Sagan Fox complaining about my smoking habit and threatening to let that psychotic friend of her's have her way with me. 

  


Discordia: You mean me?

  


Spike ::pauses:: Oh no. Not you. Hey, sorry about that whole 'psychotic' thing. ::laughs nervously::

  


Discordia: I'm sure you are. ::pulls out a leash and tethers Spike to her throne:: At any rate, here's the story. Read, review, whatever.

  


~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

  


"Bang!"

  


_'Great Vicious is dead. Now what do I do?'_

  


_"What do you mean, 'what do you do?' You're dead, Spike. You don't do anything."_

  


"Huh? Could you repeat that?" 

  


_"I said that you're dead, passed on, deceased, no longer living. Get the picture?"_

  


"I'm not sure that I follow. You say that I'm dead?"

  


_"Just look down." _

  


"Why? Wait a minute, is that . . . is that me? I mean, is that my body lying there?"

  


_"Absolutely. You didn't honestly think that you'd survived that little encounter, did you?" _

  


"Well, I guess not, but I kind of assumed that death would be somewhat different. I at least thought that I'd be aware of the transition. Hey, you don't mind if I smoke, do you?"

  


_"Go ahead. It's not like those things will kill you."_

  


"Very funny. So, why doesn't being dead feel any different than being alive?"

  


_"And what, pray tell, should being dead feel like?"_

  


"I don't know. Shouldn't there be pain or suffering or something like that?"

  


_"You're thinking of Hell. This isn't Hell. There's no suffering, just existence."_

  


"Right. Well, shouldn't there be a complete lack of sensation then? Something to differentiate between life and death? Why do I still feel the same as I always have?"

  


_"You don't. It's just been a very long time since you were alive. You can't even remember what it feel like to be alive."_

"Huh? But I've only been dead for a couple of minutes at the most."

  


_"Come on, Spike. Try to keep up with the conversation. Your physical state finally matches your emotional and spiritual state. Let's face it; you've been dead for years. At least you've been dead inside for years. You really did die all those years ago when you left the Red Dragon Syndicate, just not physically. When Julia didn't show up, you allowed yourself to die to the world and took up a 'life' as a Cowboy."_

  


"Have you been stalking me or something?"

  


_"I didn't have to. This may not be Hell, but you're a long way from Heaven."_

  


"So, what? I'm stuck spending eternity with you?"

  


_"By no means. When you're ready, you'll move on. Until then, yes, you are stuck with me. So, let's make the most of this situation, shall we?"_

  


"Great, what are we supposed to do? Talk about my childhood? My life in the Syndicate? Or perhaps my life as one of the living dead? I can't believe this crap."

  


_"Such language. Do you think I enjoy being stuck with you Mr. Spiegel? I can think of many different ways that I could be spending the afterlife, and none of them involve you."_

  


"Who are you anyway?"

  


_"Wouldn't you like to know? I'm sorry, but it doesn't work that way. I'm in charge here. So, what do you say we work things out and move on? This is really a boring place, after all."_

  


"So, I don't get any explanations? I just have to 'work things out?' what kind of scam is this anyway?"

  


_"This isn't a scam. What could I possibly gain by scamming the dead? Honestly Spike, use some common sense."_

  


"I still fail to see what this has to do with anything. Why can't I just leave?"

  


_"None of us can just leave_. _We have to wait for a resolution to our lives. Just trust me."_

  


"How long have you been here, anyway?"

  


_"Not long at all. I just happen to know a bit more about this situation than you. Come Hell or high water, the two of us are stuck here for now. So get used to it."_

  


"Wait, if you're stuck here . . . then wouldn't that mean you died here?"

  


_"Not necessarily. We're just stuck in Limbo for now. Do you understand yet?"_

  


"Probably not, but I really don't care. I'm sick of dealing with my past."

  


_"Oh, and do you mean that this time? After all, your method of avoiding your past involved running right back to it."_

  


"Excuse me? I think you've been misinformed."

  


_"Oh really? Face it Spike_, _your past was a train waiting to run you down, and instead of getting off the tracks, you ran straight for the train._ _Not exactly the wisest choice. It's too bad about Julia, though."_

  


"You be quiet. I'd rather tear out my eardrums than listen to this cheap psychobabble."

  


_"Too bad. You don't have much of a choice. You're stuck here, so just deal with it."_

  


"Just great, eternity with the world's greatest enigma. You won't even tell me your name either. And just how did you know about Julia?"

  


_"Oh, I've been around, and so has she for that matter. I never should've trusted the two of you together, but . . ."_

  


"What? What do you mean? Just who the hell are you!?"

  


_"I would've thought that you'd have figured that one out by now. Honestly Spike, who could help you resolve all of your problems better than the cause and solution to most of them?_ _We're really similar if you stop to think about it. Even choose the same women."_

  


"Vicious!? _You're _my spiritual guidance? What did I do to deserve this?"

  


_"You make it sound like a punishment Spike. I've worked through all of my problems, but you haven't. As a result, I'm stuck here in Limbo with you until such a time as you figure out where you went wrong and what you should have done differently. And so forth and so on. Can we just resolve everything now? I'm really starting to get bored."_

  


"Why have you already resolved your problems? I would've thought you'd be stuck here for ages."

  


_"Nah, I accepted the fact that I was a murdering bastard who used people as long as it suited me and then tossed them aside. There's nothing more to my life, really. You, on the other hand, have managed to complicated your life to an amazing extent._ _So, shall we?"_

  


"What exactly do I have to resolve? Is it my life as a whole, my childhood, what?"

  


_"Just figure out what's keeping you here. Is it Julia, your friends, something you did? I don't feel like staying here too much longer. This is terribly boring."_

  


"Sorry to keep you. I don't see what I need to resolve, though. I killed you, so that's a problem solved. I willingly left the Bebop, so there's nothing there. As for Julia . . . well, I guess I didn't resolve everything with her. I loved her, and she just . . ._used_ me. Like I was nothing to her."

  


_"She just wanted out and was looking for the ride that would get her there. She wanted power, and when that was too much, she picked the first man that she thought she could use to redeem herself. But there wasn't anyone to redeem you, was there?"_

  


"I guess not. I . . . trusted her. So, I forgive her. Does that get me out of here?"

  


_"I'm afraid not, Spike. There's something more than just Julia keeping you on this plane. Was there anyone after Julia? No one that you cared about?"_

  


"Not really. The kid, Ed, sort of grew on me, but she went back to her real father. Everything clear there. Jet was a great partner, but I think he understood about my past. He let me go and didn't stop me."

  


_"Alright, so you had a kid on the ship that said goodbye and left, a partner that knew better than you to abandon your past, and that's it?"_

  


"Well no. There was Faye. She always helped with the bounties, too. I guess everything was fine between us."

  


_"Are you sure? There wasn't any unresolved 'tension' between the two of you, was there? You didn't try to turn her into a Julia substitute?"_

  
  


"Lord, no. I mean . . . nothing against Faye. She was . . . is . . . a great woman, once you get past the mood problems and the attitude. I just never thought of her like that. Even after that whole scene she pulled on the Bebop as I was leav . . . . oh."

  


_"Well, looks like you've figured something out. Care to share with the rest of the class?"_

  


"I suppose it's possible that Faye had feelings for me, but what does that have to do with my being stuck here? If she has feelings for me, shouldn't that be her problem?"

  


_"Technically, yes. However, yours is a unique situation, so unfortunately you're stuck here."_

  


"How does that work?"

  


_"Well, Faye's emotions are holding you here as a result of your own doubts. You probably might have had a decent relationship with her if it hadn't been for the issue of your being dead inside. If you had successfully escaped without the emotional baggage Julia gave you, you might have lived a long, happy life. But you chose to spend your life wrapped up in a past that you swore you wanted to forget. So, what do we do about this?"_

  


"You're asking me? I thought that you had 'resolved' all of your problems."

  


_"I have. That doesn't mean I know how to solve all of yours. Think for yourself. If Faye, her emotions, or yours are holding you in this plane, find a way to break the ties you still ahve to this existence. And be quick about it."_

  


"Why the hell does everything have to be so complicated? Why couldn't I just die and go to Heaven or Hell?"

  


_"It just doesn't work that way. Now hurry up."_

  


"You're a real help, you know that?"

  


_"If it weren't for me, you wouldn't know what you were supposed to do to begin with. Quit complaining and resolve your problems already."_

  


"Fine. I guess I could have had feelings for Faye. I just never thought of her like that. She really was quite a looker and one hell of a Cowboy. I'm sorry if she cared that much about me. I just wasn't looking for anything but a way out of my past. I was looking to resolve everything and sort of didn't notice the possibilities in front of me. I hope she finds something better for herself. After everything she's been through, she deserves it."

  


_"Now, was that so hard? Congratulations, Spike, we get to move on to the next level."_

  


"The next level? Are we bound for Heaven or Hell? What about Julia?"

  


_"You ask too many questions, Spike. Just let it go. I've found that in most cases, it's best not to ask. We're dead and moving on. Hat more do you want?"_

  


"Oh well, I guess it can't be that bad. It's not like I'll be stuck climbing a stairway for all eternity," 

  


_"Just keep telling yourself that, and just maybe everything will be alright."_


End file.
